At the end of the year,
Mom was heavily pregnant.
While cleaning, she suddenly clutched her belly and groaned.
“Ugh…!”
Seeing Mom’s pained expression made me worried.
“Mom, does it hurt a lot? Is it labor? Should I call Dad?”
“No, I’m fine. There’s still six days until the due date.”
“But if your belly hurts, isn’t that labor?”
“Usually, as the due date approaches, there are several bouts of false labor.”
“I see… But still, tell me if it hurts, okay?”
“Yes, our princess doesn’t need to worry. I had Do-hee without any problems, right?”
“Uh-huh…”
However, contrary to Mom’s expectation that it was false labor, her contractions intensified over time.
While having lunch, Mom groaned even louder.
“Ugh… Do-hee, can you call Dad and tell him that I think I’m going into labor?”
“Okay, got it.”
…
“Dad, I think Mom is in labor. Take a day off and come quickly.”
“Okay, Do-hee, take care of your mom. I’ll get there as fast as I can.”
“Uh-huh.”
Mom was still bending over in pain.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s getting a bit better now. Finish your meal; I need to eat quickly to gain strength for the baby.”
“Okay, but say something if it hurts.”
“I will, our princess.”
Dad arrived home.
“Are you okay, honey?”
“No… it hurts too much. Huh.”
When I asked if she was okay, Mom had assured me so I wouldn’t worry, but it seemed she was really in pain.
“Let’s hurry to the hospital. I called a nearby obstetrician on the way.”
“Okay…”
Dad helped Mom to the car and we headed to the obstetrics clinic.
Once we got to the hospital, Dad hurriedly spoke to the nurse at the desk.
“I’m the husband of the pregnant woman who called earlier.”
“Oh, please head inside.”
We followed the nurse’s guidance into the hospital room.
“Would the mother like to change into a hospital gown?”
Mom changed into the hospital gown as instructed and lay down on the bed, waiting for the doctor to arrive.
After a short while, the doctor came in.
“Doctor, this is my second child, but I can’t tell if this is false labor or the real thing. There’s still six days until the due date.”
“Let’s check how much your cervix has opened.”
The doctor examined her and said,
“It’s opened 4 cm. If all goes well, you could give birth today; if it takes longer, it might happen in the early morning.”
“Well, it opened 4cm, if things go well, you might deliver today, but if not, it’s looking like early morning.”
Dad heard the doctor and asked.
“Teacher, is it possible to skip the epidural?”
“Yes, if it’s your second delivery, it’s better not to have it, you’ll get hurt less.”
Mom’s face stiffened, worried about the pain coming later after hearing the doctor’s words.
But trying to reassure us, she said,
“It’s okay, Do-hee was born healthy too; the second one will come quickly.”
“Yeah… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? It’s our baby.”
“I love you, honey. I’ll just finish the admission process and come back.”
“Okay, come back quickly.”
After Dad left, Mom was still sweating profusely.
“Mom, does it hurt a lot?”
“No, don’t worry.”
“But still, don’t hurt.”
“Right, our pretty daughter. Do you remember Do-hee was born here?”
“Uh-huh. I remember your face clearly from that time.”
“Ha-ha! What kind of memory does a one-year-old have?”
But I really do remember.
Mom started to complain about the worsening pain, as if real contractions had begun.
An hour later, with a loud pop, Mom’s water broke.
Dad pressed the bell to call the nurse, and Mom hurried into the delivery room with her.
After Mom entered the delivery room, Dad took my hand and waited outside.
Dad seemed worried too; his hands were sweating continuously.
About an hour passed, and with a baby’s crying, the nurse came out of the delivery room.
“Guardian, please come in for a moment to cut the umbilical cord.”
“Ah, yes, but I have a daughter… can she come in with me?”
“Ah, that’s not allowed; instead, I’ll stay with your daughter. You go ahead.”
“Thank you. My daughter can wait here by herself, right?”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
“Got it. I’ll be right back?”
Dad hurried into the delivery room wearing a gown.
How many minutes passed waiting outside with the nurse, Dad came out supporting Mom.
And next to her was the newborn sibling, cradled by the nurse.
Mom’s face looked haggard just like the first day I saw her, but a bright smile lit her face.
She looked at me and said,
“Do-hee, isn’t the baby cute?”
“Yeah, a bit wrinkled and ugly, but thinking of her as a sibling makes her cute.”
“You were wrinkled when you were born too. Now that you’re an older sister, you need to take good care of her, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll take good care of her.”
“Raising her is Mom and Dad’s job.”
Looking at the baby makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It’s been a while.
A little later, my younger sibling was taken to the nursery by a nurse.
We entered the hospital room and laid Mom down on the bed.
It’s all over, but Mom is still sweating, maybe the pain hasn’t fully disappeared.
“Mom, still hurting?”
“I’m okay now. It’s normal for afterbirth pains to go away quickly.”
“Okay. If it hurts, just tell me and I’ll call the doctor.”
“If Do-hee does ‘ho’ once, it might help.”
“Alright, here it goes. Ho~”
Normally I wouldn’t do this, but seeing Mom struggling makes those thoughts disappear.
“Haha, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Oh my, my adorable little Mom already had you five years ago.”
“Yep.”
“You know, Do-hee, Mom is happy to have given birth to you.”
“Yep.”
It’s a dreamy night.
The next afternoon.
We went to see my younger sibling in the nursery.
Mom must be feeling much better as she’s walking around by herself.
Through the glass window, the nurse is holding my sibling and approaching us to show.
I didn’t want to look short, so I had to be lifted by Dad to see my sibling through the glass.
“How is it? Isn’t she prettier than yesterday?”
Dad asked.
“She’s better than yesterday.”
Mom calls out to my sibling on the other side.
“Do-ah, it’s Mom~”
Even though the glass is blocking, somehow my sibling must have heard Mom’s voice because she gives a faint smile.
Seeing the baby’s smile, I unintentionally smile back.
For no reason at all, I let out some words that weren’t in my heart.
“My younger sibling is ugly. But, if she bothers Mom and Dad, the older sister will make her pretty anyway.”
…
…
…
Kwon Joo-hee
December 30, 2012, 2:40 PM
Today is the day my younger sister, Do-ah, was born.
I feel like it hurt less because Do-hee was cheering for me from the side~
Isn’t the way Do-hee looks at the baby lovely?
Mom still thinks Do-hee is a baby too~
(A photo of Do-hee looking at her younger sibling while being held by Dad)
– If someone saw this, they’d think Do-hee is the mom!
– Do-hee looks cute even from behind haha
– I want to have a baby too.
└ Then will you marry me?
└ Oh, are you a girl?
└ I’m a guy.
└ Get lost then.
└ Ugh.
– I’d like to inquire about ads. Please text me ㅠㅠ
…
…
…
I turned 6 years old.
Do-ah and Mom returned home after postpartum care.
Our house, which was a family of three for four years, has now become a family of four.
I’m watching my younger sibling.
“Peek-a-boo!”
Do-ah smiles widely.
What a cute little brat…
Click
As I turned towards the sound, Mom was taking my picture.
“Oh, don’t take pictures!”
“Hehe, is Do-hee shy?”
“It’s a violation of her portrait rights!”
“The rights to my daughter’s portrait belong to her mom~”
“Taking pictures is fine, but you keep posting them online.”
“Got it. I won’t post~”
“I have to be able to trust you, given your history.”
Looking back at Do-ah, she’s grinning with a big smile.
Why is she so cute?
Is it even possible to have such pretty features just two months after being born?
Her eyes are bright and lively, her eyelashes long, her nose already straight, and her lips look like cherries.
-Pok-
When I pinch her cheek, it feels soft and nice.
Do-ah smiles as if everything I do is fine.
“Mom! Hug Do-ah!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Hug me and bring me to my bed. I’m going to play the piano. What if I drop her while holding her?”
“Okay~”
As I lay Do-ah on my bed, I start to play the piano.
With gentle songs that babies would love.
By the time I finish playing, Do-ah is fast asleep.
I really learned well how to play the piano.
They say nothing beats classical music for a baby’s emotional development.
Now that Do-ah is asleep, I need to finish my tasks for the day.
Since Do-ah was born, I haven’t had much time to get through my to-do list.
That evening…
I check my mom’s SNS to see if she posted any photos from the morning.
Kwon Joo-hee
February 21, 2013, 11:40 AM
Do-hee adoring Do-ah, haha
A baby loving another baby ♥
(My photo staring intently at Do-ah)
– Hahaha, my heart!
– I want to have a daughter like Do-hee.
└ I want to have a son that looks like you.
└ Why have you been saying that to me lately?
└ Owoong
– I’d like to inquire about an advertisement… please check your texts…
└ Uncle, it’s time to give up.
– Is it okay for my older sister to love Do-hee?
As expected.
She posted another picture of someone else.
The number of followers on my mom’s account keeps increasing each day.
It’s just uncomfortable to get famous at this age.
“Ah! Mom posted again, didn’t she?”
“What are you talking about? What did Mom post?”
Mom feigns ignorance.
Oh come on.
“You posted something online again.”
“I didn’t!”
“I already saw Mom’s Facebook!”
“…Do-ah posted it.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“Do-ah posted it~ Mom doesn’t know.”
At that moment, Do-ah, who was sleeping in my room, starts to cry.
Dad, who was in the room watching Do-ah, comes out cradling her gently.
“Hey, what did you do to make Do-ah cry?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? She woke up because you two were arguing.”
“Dad, don’t blame us.”
“Huh…? No, you two…”
“”What about us?””
“Ugh… Sorry.”
